Post-Mauryan and Gupta Age

Flagship overview

After the fall of the Mauryas around 185 BCE, north India fragmented and was successively dominated by the Shungas, the Indo-Greeks (Bactrian Greeks), the Shakas (Scythians), the Parthians (Pahlavas), and above all the Kushanas, while the Satavahanas held the Deccan. From the early fourth century CE, the Gupta Empire (c. 319 to 550 CE) reunited much of north India and presided over what is conventionally called the "classical" or "golden" age, the high point of Sanskrit literature, temple architecture, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. The sources combine inscriptions (the Allahabad Prashasti, the Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman, the Hathigumpha inscription), coins (the Indo-Greeks and Guptas issued superb gold coinage), foreign accounts (the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien), and a rich body of texts.

For CAPF, the topic is high-yield. The examiner tests Kanishka and the Saka era, Gupta ruler-to-achievement and ruler-to-epithet matching, scholar-to-work matching (Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Kalidasa), who founded Nalanda, who composed the Allahabad Prashasti, which Chinese pilgrim visited under whom, and the Gandhara-versus-Mathura art schools.

Core narrative

Post-Mauryan powers (north and north-west)

• Shungas (c. 185 to 73 BCE): founded by Pushyamitra Shunga after he killed the last Maurya. He performed Ashvamedha sacrifices, marking a Brahmanical revival, and is associated with a conflict with the Indo-Greeks. The railing and sculpture of the Bharhut stupa and the stone railing and gateways (toranas) added around the Sanchi stupa belong to the Shunga age. Patanjali, author of the Mahabhashya (a commentary on Panini's grammar), lived at this time. The Shungas were followed by the short-lived Kanvas (c. 73 to 28 BCE).
• Indo-Greeks (Bactrian Greeks): the first rulers in India to issue gold coins and the first whose portraits and names appear on their coins, which is invaluable for chronology. The best-known is Menander (Milinda), whose dialogue with the Buddhist monk Nagasena is recorded in the Pali text Milindapanha (the Questions of Milinda). Greek influence shows in coinage, astronomy (the term horoscope, from horashastra), and the Gandhara art school.
• Shakas (Scythians): they displaced the Indo-Greeks in the north-west. The greatest Shaka ruler was Rudradaman I (Western Kshatrapas), whose Junagadh rock inscription (c. 150 CE) is the first long inscription in chaste (literary) Sanskrit and records his repair of the Sudarshana lake. The Saka era (78 CE) underlies the Indian national calendar adopted in 1957.
• Parthians (Pahlavas): a brief north-western dynasty; the apostle St Thomas is traditionally said to have come to India under the Parthian king Gondophernes.

The Kushanas (c. 1st to 3rd century CE)

The Kushanas were a Central Asian people (a branch of the Yuezhi). Their greatest ruler was Kanishka I (accession traditionally dated to 78 CE, taken as the start of the Saka era). His empire ran from Central Asia (Bactria) across the north-west and into the Gangetic plain, with capitals at Purushapura (Peshawar) and Mathura. Kanishka was a great patron of Buddhism: he convened the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir (Kundalvana), which led to the Hinayana-Mahayana split, and he supported the spread of Mahayana along the Silk Route to Central Asia and China. His age saw the flowering of two art schools, the Gandhara school (a Greco-Roman, Hellenistic style in grey schist, the first to make images of the Buddha in human form) and the Mathura school (an indigenous style in red sandstone). The court scholars included the physician Charaka (the Charaka Samhita, on medicine), the Buddhist philosopher Ashvaghosha (Buddhacharita), and the philosopher Nagarjuna (the Madhyamika / Shunyavada school).

The Satavahanas (Deccan, c. 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE)

The Satavahanas (called Andhras in the Puranas) ruled the Deccan from their capital at Pratishthana (Paithan) on the Godavari. The greatest king was Gautamiputra Satakarni, praised in the Nasik prashasti of his mother Gautami Balashri, who defeated the Shaka ruler Nahapana. The Satavahanas issued lead and copper (and some potin) coins, promoted inland and maritime trade, used Prakrit as the official language, and began the practice of granting tax-free land to Brahmanas and Buddhist monks (the agrahara and brahmadeya grants). They followed a matronymic naming custom (kings named after their mothers, hence Gautamiputra, "son of Gautami"). The Buddhist rock-cut caves and chaityas of the western Deccan (Karle, Nasik, Bhaja) and the later Amaravati stupa school of art flourished in and after their time.

The Gupta Empire (c. 319 to 550 CE)

The dynasty was founded by Sri Gupta and Ghatotkacha (who used the modest title Maharaja). The real founder of the empire was:

• Chandragupta I (c. 319 to 335 CE): took the grand title Maharajadhiraja, strengthened the dynasty by a marriage alliance with the Lichchhavi clan (his queen was Kumaradevi), and is associated with the start of the Gupta era (319 CE).
• Samudragupta (c. 335 to 375 CE): the great conqueror, called the "Napoleon of India" (a phrase coined by the historian V. A. Smith) for his wide campaigns, detailed in the Allahabad (Prayag) Prashasti composed by his court poet Harisena and engraved on an Ashokan pillar. He performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice, issued gold coins showing himself playing the veena, and patronised the arts and learning.
• Chandragupta II "Vikramaditya" (c. 375 to 415 CE): extended the empire by conquering the Shakas (Western Kshatrapas) of western India and Malwa and Gujarat, and through a marriage alliance with the Vakatakas of the Deccan (his daughter Prabhavatigupta married the Vakataka king). The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa-Hien (Faxian) visited India during his reign (c. 405 to 411 CE) and left an account of a prosperous, peaceful land. His court is traditionally said to have hosted the navaratnas (nine gems), including the poet Kalidasa.
• Kumaragupta I (c. 415 to 455 CE): founded Nalanda Mahavihara (the great Buddhist university) and worshipped the war-god Kartikeya.
• Skandagupta (c. 455 to 467 CE): repelled the first invasions of the Hunas (Hephthalites) and repaired the Sudarshana lake, but the strain of war began the decline.

The empire weakened from the late fifth century under repeated Huna invasions (the chiefs Toramana and his son Mihirakula) and the rise of independent feudatories (samantas), and faded by the mid-sixth century. The Maukharis, the Maitrakas of Vallabhi, and the later Vardhanas (Harsha) succeeded to parts of the realm.

Gupta administration, society, and economy

Gupta administration was more decentralised than the Mauryan, with provinces (bhuktis) under uparikas, districts (vishayas) under vishayapatis, and a growing class of land-granting feudatories (samantas) who held administrative and even judicial powers, an early form of "feudalism". Society saw the consolidation of the caste order and the rise of land grants to Brahmanas; the position of women declined further (early marriage, the first epigraphic reference to sati appears at Eran, 510 CE). The economy was prosperous and partly self-sufficient, with flourishing trade (though the long-distance Roman trade had declined), guilds (shrenis), and the issue of the finest gold coins (dinaras) of ancient India, along with silver and copper coinage.

After the Guptas: Harsha (briefly)

The most important post-Gupta ruler of the north was Harshavardhana of Thanesar and Kanauj (606 to 647 CE), of the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty, who briefly reunited much of north India. His court poet Banabhatta wrote the Harshacharita (a biography) and the Kadambari. The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) visited India during his reign and left a detailed account; Harsha held the great religious assemblies at Kanauj and Prayag. His southward advance was checked by the Chalukya Pulakeshin II. Harsha himself wrote three Sanskrit plays (Ratnavali, Nagananda, Priyadarshika). His death without an heir left the north fragmented again, leading into the early medieval period.

The golden age: achievements

Literature: Kalidasa is the foremost Sanskrit poet-dramatist of the age (the plays Abhijnanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvashiyam; the poems Meghaduta, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, Ritusamhara). Vishakhadatta wrote the political dramas Mudrarakshasa and Devichandraguptam. Shudraka wrote Mrichchhakatika. The Puranas and the two great epics reached their final form, and the smritis (including the Manusmriti and later law codes) were compiled. The Panchatantra (Vishnu Sharma) of moral fables belongs to this milieu. Amarasimha compiled the Sanskrit lexicon Amarakosha.

Science and mathematics: Aryabhata (born 476 CE) wrote the Aryabhatiya, stated that the earth rotates on its axis (and that the apparent motion of the heavens is due to this), explained solar and lunar eclipses scientifically, gave an accurate value of pi (approximately 3.1416), and worked on trigonometry. Varahamihira wrote the Brihatsamhita (an encyclopaedia of astronomy, astrology, geography, and natural science) and the Panchasiddhantika. Brahmagupta (7th century, just after the Guptas) advanced the rules of zero and is credited with an early statement of gravitation. The decimal place-value system and the symbol and concept of zero matured in this period. In medicine, Charaka (of the earlier Kushana age, the Charaka Samhita on internal medicine) and Sushruta (the Sushruta Samhita on surgery, including cataract and plastic surgery) are the classical authorities.

Art and architecture: the Gupta age established the Nagara (north Indian) style of structural temple; the Dashavatara (Vishnu) temple at Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh) and the brick temple at Bhitargaon are early examples. The murals of the Ajanta caves (Maharashtra), the finest ancient Indian painting, were executed largely in the Gupta and Vakataka period. Buddhist sculpture (the Sarnath Buddha) reached a classical serenity. The rust-free Iron Pillar at Mehrauli (Delhi), inscribed for a king "Chandra" and standing for more than fifteen centuries without rusting, attests to the metallurgical skill of the age.

Static facts to memorise

Rulers and figures

Scholars and works

Art schools (a classic contrast)

Eras the examiner reuses

How CAPF asks it

Formats: ruler-to-epithet (Samudragupta as "Napoleon of India", Chandragupta II as Vikramaditya); scholar-to-work matching; single-correct on the Saka era and Kanishka; who founded Nalanda; who composed the Allahabad Prashasti; which pilgrim visited under whom; Gandhara-versus-Mathura statements.

Authored practice (with answers):

Common confusion

• Samudragupta = "Napoleon of India" (the conqueror, Allahabad Prashasti). Chandragupta II = "Vikramaditya" (defeated the Shakas, Fa-Hien). Do not swap.
• Chandragupta Maurya (Mauryan founder, 4th century BCE) versus Chandragupta I and Chandragupta II of the Guptas (4th to 5th century CE). Different dynasties.
• Saka era (78 CE, Kanishka) versus Gupta era (319 CE, Chandragupta I) versus Vikrama era (58 BCE).
• Gandhara (Greco-Roman, grey schist, north-west) versus Mathura (indigenous, red sandstone). The examiner pairs each with its material.
• Fa-Hien visited under Chandragupta II (Gupta); Hiuen Tsang came later, under Harsha (7th century).
• Fourth Buddhist Council (Kashmir, Kanishka, Hinayana-Mahayana split) is Kushana, not Mauryan.

Memory hook

• Post-Mauryan north-west sequence: "Shungas, Greeks, Shakas, Parthians, Kushanas" (SGSPK).
• Gupta rulers in order: "Si-Gha-Cha-Sa-Cha-Ku-Ska" (Sri Gupta, Ghatotkacha, Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta, Skandagupta).
• "78 = Kanishka, 319 = Gupta era": two eras to anchor.
• "Aryabhata rotates the earth; Sushruta cuts; Charaka cures; Varahamihira reads the stars."

Night before

• Post-Mauryan north-west: Shungas (Pushyamitra), Indo-Greeks (Menander, Milindapanha), Shakas (Rudradaman, Junagadh inscription), Kushanas.
• Kanishka began the Saka era (78 CE), convened the Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir, and patronised Gandhara and Mathura art.
• Gandhara art is Greco-Roman in grey schist; Mathura art is indigenous in red sandstone.
• Satavahanas ruled the Deccan from Pratishthana; Gautamiputra Satakarni (Nasik prashasti) was the greatest, defeating Nahapana.
• Gupta era began 319 CE; Chandragupta I took Maharajadhiraja and the Lichchhavi alliance.
• Samudragupta = "Napoleon of India"; Allahabad Prashasti by Harisena; Ashvamedha and veena coins.
• Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) defeated the Shakas; Fa-Hien visited; navaratnas at his court.
• Kumaragupta I founded Nalanda; Skandagupta repelled the early Hunas.
• Aryabhata (Aryabhatiya): earth's rotation, value of pi, eclipses; Varahamihira (Brihatsamhita); Sushruta (surgery); Charaka (medicine).
• Decimal system and zero matured; Nagara temple style began (Deogarh); Ajanta murals and the Mehrauli Iron Pillar.
• Gupta decline: Huna invasions (Toramana, Mihirakula) and rising feudatories.

Glossary

• Indo-Greeks: the Bactrian Greek kings who ruled the north-west after Alexander's successors.
• Milindapanha: the Pali dialogue between King Menander (Milinda) and the monk Nagasena.
• Saka era: the era beginning 78 CE, dated from Kanishka's accession; basis of the national calendar.
• Gandhara school: the Greco-Roman style of Buddhist art in grey schist of the north-west.
• Mathura school: the indigenous Indian art school in red sandstone at Mathura.
• Matronymic: a naming custom by which a person is named after the mother (Gautamiputra).
• Agrahara / brahmadeya: tax-free land grants to Brahmanas.
• Maharajadhiraja: "great king of kings", the imperial title taken by Chandragupta I.
• Prashasti: a eulogistic inscription praising a ruler (for example, the Allahabad Prashasti).
• Navaratnas: the "nine gems", scholars traditionally at the court of Chandragupta II.
• Samanta: a feudatory or vassal chief holding land and powers under the Guptas.
• Nagara: the north Indian style of temple architecture, with a curvilinear shikhara.
• Hunas: the Hephthalite (White Huns) invaders whose attacks hastened the Gupta decline.
• Dinara: the Gupta gold coin.

Related notes

• mauryan empire
• south india and sangam age
• delhi sultanate
• mahajanapadas jainism and buddhism
• Index
• syllabus index